In the case of two editions of the Book as a whole , the publisher decided to divide them into volumes. In both cases, the second part is clearly paler than the first. It was like that in Grombel, more of a legend , and it is so in The Lady of Good Sign . It is a pity because the first volumes raised high expectations of these books.
Long storyline
As it is easy to guess from the previous volume, in this installment of the Book of the Whole there is a fight between Dartan and the Eternal Empire. All the pieces of the puzzle from the Eternal Peace fall into place and the events that many readers have probably been waiting for begin.
The biggest surprise in Mrs. Dobrego Znak. The Eternal Empire is a story. In the previous part, it was kind of slow, but incredibly addictive. Here, finally, many threads and a large war are resolved. So everything should be more interesting and lively, and instead it becomes boring. It is difficult to clearly indicate what is the reason for this, but the reading is simply long. Certainly, the extensive descriptions of fights and troops are not conducive to the interest in the plot, but it does not seem that they are the only ones to blame. Perhaps the whole story is simply too stretched (after all, both volumes are over a thousand pages together).
Maintaining uncertainty
At least in the story of Pani Dobrego Znaku. The Eternal Empire negatively differs from the previous volumes, one thing must be admitted to the author – he skillfully keeps the reader in suspense. In fact, until the story is resolved, we do not know which side of the conflict will win. I will not count how many times, when I read, I was sure that I knew who would receive the laurels, and then I changed my opinion a dozen or several dozen pages. This is undoubtedly a big advantage of this position.
The way the characters are presented also deserves recognition. There are interesting characters on both sides of the conflict. You can like a lot of them. Therefore, it is difficult to cheer on any faction, knowing that its victory means a defeat for the heroes we like. Of course, we will not like everyone. Some of the people are unpleasant, but those with whom it is easy to sympathize stand out.
A long story
Taking everything into account, it seems that both volumes of the Lady of Good Sign should be shortened a bit and thus get the best out of them. A slimmed-down novel should gain momentum (especially in the second part) and thus present itself better. In the present form, it remains for us – the readers – to turn a blind eye to the imperfections and get through the debts before reaching for the next volume.
Nasza ocena: 6.7/10
Lady of Good Mark. The Eternal Empire , unfortunately, differs negatively from the previous installment of the series. The described events will probably be crucial for the whole story, but they may be a bit weary for the reader.EDITION AND PROOFREADING: 7/10
PLOT: 5/10
Characters: 8/10
STYLE: 7/10